How to Help Your Halloween Decorations Weather the Storm

With Halloween right around the corner, many people have already begun if not finished decorating their yards with ghouls and goblins.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature is often unexpected and intentionally random, just to throw us off from her path of destruction. I spoke with a local expert who really knows how to do the Halloween season when it comes to transforming a yard into an absolute horror show. Aaron Cadieux, the man behind Stonewall Manor in Dartmouth, has braved many storms that have passed through this area and know what it takes to protect his decor from wind and rain damage, as well as any other natural phenomenon that could potentially harm his hard work.

With the current Nor'easter battering the SouthCoast, here are some tips on protecting your spooky lawn decor:

1. It is advised that standing decorations should be taken down and laid flat in order to avoid them drifting away.
2. Anything electronic should also be taken down and put somewhere safe or covered with something such as a heavy-duty trash bag.
3. For outdoor electronic decorations, there are specific cords that are made for outdoor use:
   1. The extension cords that big box stores put out with their outdoor decorations should be safe and work just fine.
   2. In order to avoid hazards, you should not use plug-in electronic decorations that specifically say they are "for indoor use only."

So if you're planning on going all out this season, but it's your first rodeo, take the advice from Cadieux and take yourself a dollar or two by simply following his steps to avoid weather damage to your holiday props.